SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will upgrade a presidential advisory panel on science and technology into a standing administrative agency to bolster its research and development (R&D) capabilities, the government said Friday.

The president will chair the National Science and Technology Council once its status change is made during the first half of 2011, with a minister-level official to act as its deputy chairperson, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.